HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA IN CAPTIVE SLENDER TAILED MEERKATS (SURICATA SURICATTA): 5 CASES

Hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed in five slender tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) housed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoological Park between 1980 and 2013. Animals included four females and one male, ranging from 7 to 15 yr of age. Common clinical signs included weight loss and lethargy. Three of the neoplasms originated from the right medial liver lobe and were located adjacent to or partially incorporated in the gall bladder. Three animals had solitary masses, and two animals had multiple hepatic masses; all were characterized by polygonal to round neoplastic hepatocytes arranged in a trabecular pattern with smaller regions of varied solid, adenoid, and rarely peliod cell patterns. Hemorrhage and necrosis often with cystic degeneration was noted in all five cases. There was no evidence of metastatic disease in any of the cases examined.